Good morning
Cairo is a city where even its own people feel like strangers
We always hear that the city reflects the society that lives in it
But in order for that to be we need to have certain institutions
That the citizens can use to control their city
We don’t have that
So I can say that the city – Cairo – reflects the politics and policies
So for example I am one of the 86% of Cairenes who don’t own a car
Only 14% of Cairo’s population own cars
So we’re talking about approximately 15 million people who use the subway, microbuses, buses
And those who have some extra cash for spend take cabs
Yet all the government policies regarding transportation
never exceed building a new bridge or expanding roads
Although we do already have the infrastructure, it exists
Like these rods and wires in Nasr City and Heliopolis
This part of the infrastructure that we already have is the most expensive part
What’s left is to renovate the stations and vehicles
Yet there’s no investment or government policy to address this issue that affects the lives
Of 86% of the city’s population
There are 3 subway lines – I personally take the subway
I try to take it as frequently as I can even though it
doesn’t reach many areas as we all know
But if part of my route can be crossed by the subway, I take it
But I don’t just like the subway as a means of transportation
But also as means of exploring the city we live in
Every subway station takes you to a new neighborhood or place
With a new environment and community
We can get to know the city this way
So let’s take a line and stop at a few stations
And I’ll draw your attention towards some
observations – things we all see on a daily basis in the city
And perhaps if we take better note, if we talk about these things more
If we pressure politicians into including us in the decision making process
the city could be better
This could be a better way to deal with our reality
Our first stop is Ramses Station
Actually Ramses Station came to my mind recently after the Assiut accident
When news broke out that the Railway Authority doesn’t have 10 million EGP
That it needs to fix the barriers
This news astonished me because I remember that exactly a year ago
The same authority spent 180 million EGP on
what they dubbed development of the [Ramses] Station
And we’ll talk about that in a minute
Ramses Station is one of the most important stations in the entire Middle East
It was built, this building was built in 1892
And inside the Station is a museum displaying the history of railroads in Egypt
Egypt has one of the oldest railway systems in the world
The first line was opened in 1854
And Egypt had the first railway museum, built in 1932
The museum is at the end of Platform 1 and it was one of my favorite places as a child
Last year, in the name of development, the museum was emptied
No one knows where all the content that was inside it is now
Some wood and piles of sand have replaced them in the name of renovation
And it’s been that way for a year now
This is something we see all over the city, in museums and historic buildings
Which are supposed to be part of our history and part of our city
But this is what we get: renovation
And this renovation can take a year, 5, 10
Sometimes the renovation takes 20 years, and we don’t really pay attention
By the way this is what the museum looked like before the renovation
I think it’s better they restore it the way it was
As for the station itself and the 180 million that were spent last year
An amount, 10% of which they can’t find this year
To fix the barriers that could have saved the lives of children
They weren’t actually spent on development, they were spent on décor
You’re free to redecorate a room in your house if you feel like it
But this isn’t a room in a house, this is a station in a capital city, a public building
And the money spent on this decoration comes from the government, it’s public wealth
We as a society, citizens living in the city have a right to know who the engineer
Who the architect and what the budget spent on this project are
Will this allocation of budget give us the best return on investment?
All of this should be made public
And we should know the selection process of all these elements
Unfortunately that’s not the case; selection is usually made on an individual basis
The president of the authority brings on board an engineer he knows, no objections made
And even if we disregard all that and that this is a historic building that’s been deformed
If we look at the architectural details from an engineer’s point of view
We’ll see they did practically everything against the teachings of engineering
So for instance they made a ceiling under the ceiling
They set up pillars in front of pillars: décor pillars in front of the pillars that are holding up the building
They built a glass wall in front of the brick wall
In the design of any public building, the door is built in a manner that suits a railway station
It definitely won’t be a door like that of a private law firm
But no, they completely disregarded this door that’s designed for a specific purpose
And built a new door that’s more suitable for a McDonald’s
The next stop is the Attaba Station or Azbakiyya Station
The Azbakiyya is – to me – one of the 3 most important spots in Modern Cairo
The growth of Cairo was not sporadic
There are 3 central points that link the pre 19th century Cairo with the post 19th Century Cairo
Station Square is one of those points
The Azbakiyya square – or park - is the second
And Abdeen Palace and square comprise the third
The Azbakiyya Park was created in the 1830s during Mehmet Ali’s era
It was redesigned in the 1860s
The idea behind it was very simple
That we Egyptians living in an urban space have the right to a public space
A space with greenery where we can sit and enjoy some fresh air
And as you can see this photo is from the 1870s
People often think that the Azhar Park is genius idea when in fact
We’ve had this idea around for 150 years now
And around the park, Modern Cairo’s landmark buildings were built
Like the Opera House for example
The Opera House was built in 1869 and when it was exactly 101 years old
It was burned down in 1970
And to this day – 40 years later – we still don’t know what caused the fire
Right behind the Opera House was the firehouse building
Many claim it was a political fire but anyway
There’s another important building in The Azbakiyya I would like to draw your attention to
And that’s the Continental Hotel
The Continental Hotel is one of the most important hotels in the world, not just in Egypt
Some of the most important international figures stayed there in the modern period
Especially around the time of the first and second world wars
This one hasn’t been burned down, it’s still there
And those who pass by this area or use the Azhar tunnel pass by it everyday
But we never ask ourselves what it is or why it’s abandoned this way
This hotel is government property
But the government hasn’t used it as a site which with some investment
Could boost the economy in its surrounding area
What usually happens in other countries is when a government is sitting on a treasure like this
It simply brings in investors to renovate it and so on
But our government is convinced that this building is subject to collapsing
Even though nothing about it says that it might collapse anytime soon
And assuming the claim is true, who’s the specialist who made this claim?
And by the way it can be saved if it’s on the verge of collapsing
There are buildings in Germany that during the world war were really on the verge of collapsing
But if we go to Berlin today we’ll find them standing tall like they’ve never been touched
So the question here is: Who’s responsible for all this?
Our third stop is Sadat Station
I’m not going to talk about Tahrir Square itself
I want to talk about something we see in Tahrir Square, but not only there
This is something we see in all of Egypt’s main roads and squares
And that’s the green fences we see everywhere
This is something we see and pass by everyday
But we never ask ourselves what they are and why they’re there
Actually we’re not talking about something trivial here
We’re talking about millions of dollars spent on these fences
On lost resources: steel
It’s not like we have abundance in steel so we can build these fences
But these fences are also an obstacle
So in a country with democratic institutions that allow me as a citizen to sue my government
This would be one of the first things we can sue the government for
I want to cross the street but the government is basically fencing me in and preventing my movement
And to be honest it’s a shame that after the revolution and the democratic transition
We still find ourselves forced to jump over fences so we can cross the streets
These fences are there in other places as well; they were one of the old regime’s policies
Quickly, the next stop is the Opera Station in Zamalek
Here too we will find fences of a different kind
Now we’re leaving the station, here’s the sidewalk: a public space
And next to us is a park, also a public space. But between us is a fence.
On the opposite side of the street are the buildings of the Opera House, the museums,
The cultural centers which are supposed to be open the public
To invite them to explore their history and to create and participate in their culture
But they’re fenced
By the way this is The Egyptian Civilization Building, built in 1936
It was emptied some 20 years ago in the name of development
And the development is still not over
And I’m sure that in every year’s budget there is an amount allocated for this building’s “development”
And by the way when the subway was built, the consultant company built an exit from the station
That goes straight into the park, since it’s a public building and this is public transportation
So you’d leave the station and go straight to the park
And that exit has never been opened
The last stop I want to take you to is on the other line of the metro
And it’s the most important stop in my point of view
Because it represents the majority of Cairo
The majority of Cairo isn’t like downtown or Zamalek or Heliopolis
It’s more like this area. This area is called El Mounib.
I just want you to pay attention to the line of buildings on the right, and then the other side on the left
El Mounib – first of all it represents 2 thirds of the city to me
2 thirds of Cairo’s population live in areas like this which the media calls informal settlements
If you look at the other side at the uniform buildings
This is the government’s idea of residence
The person living in this building probably has no contact with the person living in that building
There’s a kind of social fragmentation
What creates a community in the city is that people know their neighbors
This is what you’ll find in the so-called informal settlements, like El Mounib
As you can see, these people with very limited resources
Created what the government never does when it makes residential plans
They put benches so people can sit outside, meet and converse
They planted trees
And the streets are very clean even though the French or Spanish cleaning companies
Definitely don’t go to this area
It was only 5 years after this area was built that its people got electricity
And yet, it has something I think is very potent
It is a neighborhood
Neighborhood meaning its people know each other and have created a vibrant community
They actually coexist, they don’t have the conflict we see in other residential areas
Where people are scattered and don’t know each other
And by the way in Arabic the word “’hayy” (neighborhood) is clearly related to the word “’hyaah” (life)
Compare that to the French language for instance where “Cartier” is related to the maps
The topology, the design and the division
The human or lively part doesn’t exist in the French term
Its existence in our Arabic term is something we should build on, not run away from
Or say that we need to eradicate informal settlements
Of course not all informal settlements are like this one, there are much poorer areas
But we can easily cooperate with a place like El Mounib
And the most important thing when dealing with this place is dealing with its people
The people who live there
They are the ones who with very limited resources overcame all obstacles
And built the place they’re inhabiting
But there are limits, there are things they can’t do
Like for example the conduit. This is the Zomor conduit
it ran behind El Mounib when it was agricultural land
Of course agricultural land in Cairo is valued at 10 times its value today if it’s built on
Which is also because of the government’s policies
The conduit was filled in the high end areas up north
But down south in the not so rich areas it was left as is
So of course it turned into a dump, and this needs the government
The government can handle something like this
But this doesn’t mean that the government should come like a deus ex machina
Without including the area’s residents
Imagine if the people of El Mounib were able to communicate with the local authorities
By the way, quick question: Does anyone know who the governor of Cairo is today?
I mean we should at least know who the governor is
Or did anyone ever enter – or remember the last time they entered – his neighborhood’s municipality?
Probably not, and if you have been there, it was probably a really bad experience
Close to here but quickly I want a mention a place related to some recent events
This is an island called Qorsaaya, one of the 5 islands in Cairo
It’s a rural island, 5,000 people live in it. 1,000 fishermen and 4,000 peasants.
In 2007 the army attacked this island claiming its inhabitants took over the land illegally
And the people of the island sued the army and won the case in 2010
Last month the army attacked the island again and 1 person died
And the governorate said it had nothing to do with the attack
Although if you check the governorate’s official website you’ll find they have a plan for this island
How can they have a plan for the place without talking to the people that live in it?
Do these people not want development for instance? Of course they do!
But why can’t they communicate with the government?
Why can’t they reach their local authorities in the first place
So that they can be part of this development plan?
So this is an important question: Where are the people – the Egyptians – in all of this?
Who makes the decisions?
Are the people a part of or an obstacle to development?
And who does this development serve?
How are the decisions made?
The government and its consultants in the last 30 - 40 years have given us 2 choices:
The first is to run away from the city and build in the desert
But unfortunately when we moved to the desert
we repeated the same mistakes we ran away from in the city in the first place
There’s still no transportation, there are no public spaces
The sidewalk, the simplest right we citizens have is to enjoy an even sidewalk throughout the city
It doesn’t exist, if someone wants to plant a tree in front of their house they go ahead
If someone doesn’t want the sidewalk altogether they can remove it
Residential planning is repeating the same mistakes again
The second choice we’re given by the government is to demolish all of Cairo
Because it’s hopeless; a helpless case
And build Dubai or California or something
So what I want to say is that it might be easier to run away from the city
Or tear it down and start over from scratch
Or at least we think that’s easier
But in fact the better city requires that we deal with our reality
And a little bit of imagination, not too much by the way
So my message is this
Let’s keep an eye out for the city and participate in the decision making process
And Cairo will become better